Explore the natural
environment and travel
the ancient routes of the native people and the early explorers through the
wilderness of Baja California. Driving in our specially equipped,
satellite linked expedition vehicle the expedition began on January 31, 2002.

Follow the migration of the California
Gray Whale to the calving lagoons in Baja Sur.Explore the
abandoned missions left behind by the early Spanish missionaries and trek
to the rock art that the ancient native people left
behind.

Explore the National Parks and the UNESCO World
Heritage sites that
preserve the beauty of the region.

Mexico is a very large country spreading southeast from its northern
border with the United States to the Caribbean Sea and from the Pacific
Ocean on the west and south to the Gulf of Mexico on the east. Mexico
covers almost 2 million square kilometers (460,000 sq. mi.) and also
shares borders with Guatemala and Belize.

In the northwest portion of the country is the Baja Peninsula. At
800 miles long it is one of the longest peninsulas
in the world. The peninsula is also very narrow averaging less than
70 miles in width with the narrowest part being 26 miles wide.

20 million years ago, there was no Baja Peninsula. The land was
originally connected to the Mexican mainland with the tip of Baja located
near Puerto Vallarta. Thanks to the San Andreas Fault and the
movement of the earth’s plates Baja is now is nearly 300 miles away from
its old neighbor.

Baja's mountains form a largely unbroken barrier running the entire
length. The mountains are actually a series of ranges each with
their own name. The mountains average between 2,000 and 3,000
feet. The tallest mountains on the peninsula are the twin peaks of
Picacho del Diablo, or Devil's Peak, which rise to 10,154 feet.

There are four main desert areas on the peninsula. These are the
San Felipe Desert, the Central Coast Desert, the Vizcaíno Desert and the
Magdalena Plain Desert.

Being a peninsula, two of Baja three sides are water. The Pacific
coast is characterized by ocean swells and the occasionally heavy
surf. Due to upwelling of deep ocean water, the water temperature
is cool though it warms as the water mover south.

The Sea of Cortez is over 600 miles long and in places, the depth
reaches more than 14,000 feet. With its location along the San
Andreas Fault, the Cortez is very seismically active. Earthquakes in
the 1800's destroyed the towns of San Ignacio and Loreto.

Due to its long narrow shape, the Cortez produces one of the largest
tidal ranges in the world. Near the Colorado River Delta the tides
can fluctuate up to 31 feet between high and low tides. Water
temperature can also vary by large extremes. Depending on the season
and the location, the temperature can vary from a high of 91°F to a low
of 47°F.

Climate

Much of northern Baja California has a climate similar to Southern
California. Along the Pacific coast the summers are warm with cool
night, while the winter is cool with chilly nights. The Sea of
Cortez has hot summers days and humid nights, while the winter is cooler
with strong cold winds. Most of the rain falls along the Pacific coast in
the winter, with an average of 10 inches of rainfall a year.

The southern half of Baja is more sub-tropical. Summers are hot and
humid, while winter evenings can be cool. Rain is rare and mostly in
the summer in the form of violent storms.

While fishing and agriculture are still major industries in
Baja, not surprisingly, the economy is becoming more and more dependent
upon tourism. Both Baja California and Baja California Sur have higher
per-capita income than any of the other Mexican states with the exception
of the Distrito Federal (the state that Mexico City is in). Both states
register the lowest unemployment in the country and have the highest
percentage of new jobs created. Many of these new jobs are in the tourism
industry and Fonatur, Mexico’s federal tourism development agency, has
been busy building resorts in La Paz, Loreto and Cabo San Lucas with more
to come.

The states of Baja California are in a unique position
economically from the rest of the country. They still have to deal with
mainland problems such as a weak currency and high inflation, but because
the peninsula is isolated from the mainland, the economy is also closely
tied to the economy of the United States. This has helped to smooth over
some of the bumps in the economic road that the rest of the country has to
weather.

Currently Mexico is in an upswing economically and
economists predict Mexico will have the fastest growing economy in Latin
America by 2005. Baja’s growth is predicted to be slower however,
because they are already having to play "catch-up" to the rest
of Mexico.

The native people of the Baja peninsula belonged to
three major groups: The Cochimi in northern Baja, the Guaycuras in the
central section and the Pericues in the cape region. These people were
hunter-gatherers and spent their days hunting small animals and fishing
and gathering wild foods such as pine nuts and cactus fruit. They lived in
communal groups and shelter was provided by holes in the ground covered
with branches. Today the descendents of these people live primarily in the
northernmost part of the peninsula and are part of the Paipai, the
Kumeyaay and the Cochimi tribes.

After the Spanish conquered the Mexican mainland in the
early 16th century, exploration spread to the Baja area. It was
believed by many that an island of gold existed off the coast and in 1532
Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortez dispatched two fleets of ships to look
for it.

After the first two expeditions failed, Cortez himself
set off to search for the golden island. Landing north of La Paz in 1535,
he discovered black pearls but no gold. Severe food and water shortages
plus disease and hostile locals soon sent Cortez and his men back to the
Mexican mainland. But in 1539 he tried again, this time sending Captain
Francisco de Ulloa. Ulloa, sailing the full length of the Sea of Cortez,
discovered that Baja was actually a peninsula. Rounding the southern tip
of Baja, Ulloa sent a supply ship back to the mainland to announce their
findings. Unfortunately Ulloa was never heard from again as his ship was
lost near Bahia Magdalena. Cortez, upon hearing the news of the
captain’s demise decided he had had enough. He returned to Spain in
1541.

In 1542, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo sent off on what was to
be the last exploration of the peninsula for 50 years. He sailed further
north along the Pacific coast than had any of his predecessors and made it
as far as Fort Ross on the coast of present-day California before turning
back.

Interest in exploration waned but the peninsula became
important in other ways. Baja became an important stop for ships called
the "Manila Galleons" traveling between Mexico and the
Philippines. Baja was the first land met by these ships and a need to
establish a supply station became obvious. So starting in 1592 Sebastian
Vizcaino made two expeditions to try to establish a station. He followed
virtually the same route as Cabrillo but was also unsuccessful at
colonizing. For 250 years ships plied this route loaded with silk,
perfumes, spices and gold. Unfortunately bounty hunters also plied these
waters and many ships and goods were lost to them. But a supply station
would not be established until 1730!

All of the before mentioned attempts to colonize the
peninsula had been privately funded. It wasn’t until 1683 that the first
publicly funded colonization attempt was pursued. In January of that year
the Spanish government provisioned three ships with 200 men. Commanded by
the governor of Sinaloa, Isidro de Atondo y Antillon and accompanied by
Jesuit priest Eusebio Kino the ships landed in La Paz. The first
settlement at La Paz was soon abandoned because of hostile locals. They
tried again near Loreto but this attempt also failed. Kino and Atondo y
Antillon returned to the mainland where Kino went on to establish several
missions in the northwest. It wasn’t until 1695 that another Jesuit
priest named Juan Maria Salvatierra finally managed to establish a
permanent Spanish settlement in Loreto. Mission Nuestra Senora de Loreto,
soon became the peninsula’s religious and administrative capital. From
here, other Jesuits went out to establish missions throughout the area,
founding a total of 23 over the next 70 years.

Along with religion, the Jesuits brought diseases that
the native people had never been exposed to. By 1767, epidemics of
smallpox, plague, typhus, measles and venereal diseases had decimated the
population. Out of an initial population of about 48,000 only 8,000 still
remained.

But while a decline in population threatened the
existence of the missions, it was the Spanish government who ended the
Jesuit efforts. Rumor had it that the Jesuit priests had amassed a fortune
on the peninsula and they were becoming very powerful. After word made it
back to Spain, King Carlos III had them expelled from Baja at gunpoint and
ordered them back to Spain.

The Franciscans & The Dominicans

Next came the Franciscans, under the authority of Father
Junipero Serra. They closed or consolidated several of the existing
missions and established one of their own, San Fernando Velicata. However
Father Serra was to have greater duties thrust upon him. Along with Gaspar
de Portola, he was ordered by the Spanish government to push north and
establish missions in Alta (upper) California. This venture, which gave
birth of 21 missions in Baja California and Alta California (which later
became California), was 200 years later to result in the beatification
of Junipero Serra by the Catholic Church.

In 1772 the Dominicans arrived and by 1800 had
established nine more missions in the northern part of Baja. They also
continued to run the Jesuit missions. But by 1810 Mexico had risen up to
end the Spanish rule and the days of the mission system of government were
numbered. Mexico gained its independence in 1821 and in 1832, after Baja
became a federal territory, the governor put an end to the mission system
by converting the missions into parish churches.

Before 1848, most of what is now the southwestern United
States belonged to Mexico. But in a surprise move in 1836, Texas declared
itself a separate republic. In 1845, desire by the United States to obtain
Texas prompted President James Polk to issue an invitation to Texas to
join the union. This "annexation" infuriated Mexico and prompted
armed conflict along the border. This and the fear that Alta California
would be taken over by

France
or England prompted the U.S. government to declare war on Mexico.

Most of the fighting took place in mainland Mexico but
battles also occurred on the peninsula. Battles at La Paz, Mulege and San
Jose del Cabo resulted in many locals declaring neutrality. In February of
1848 and in exchange for $15 million, Mexico ceded Alta California and New
Mexico to the United States. The original draft of the treaty included
Baja California, but the US agreed with Mexico’s request to not cede
Baja because their coast faced the state of Sonora and was only separated
by a short distance of water.

Other, more corrupt schemes also took place to gain Baja
for the United States. In 1853, an American named William Walker attempted
to take over the peninsula, with the idea of annexing it to the United
States. With a group of about 50 mercenaries, Walker sailed from San
Francisco to La Paz. After misrepresenting himself to be allowed to land,
Walker and his men arrested the governor, took possession of the public
buildings and raised the flag of a new republic. He declared himself
president and installed cabinet members. When his reinforcements failed to
arrive however, Walker was forced to retreat to Cabo San Lucas and
eventually back across the border. He later tried the same stunt in
Honduras where he was put to death by the authorities in 1860.

The mountains and
valley of Baja California have be very rarely visited by archaeologists
and is still more or less ignored. Mexico is so rich in
archaeological ruins that most investigations are conducted on the
mainland. This does not mean there is nothing to note on the
peninsula.

Evidence of the native people is found throughout the
peninsula. Along the coasts are numerous clamshell middens. Middens are
like garbage dumps. The natives would harvest clams for food, then place
the shells in one area. As more shells were deposited the middens would
grow. These piles also tell the story of the people. At the bottom of the
middens archeologists find the largest clamshells. As time goes on, the
people harvest more and more clams, depositing smaller and smaller shells
on the midden, until the supply of clams dwindled. The people would then
move to a new spot and start the process over.

The most dramatic evidence that the native people left
behind are the dramatic cave painting found in the mountainous areas of
the peninsula. Most of the paintings are found in deep, nearly
inaccessible arroyos (canyons). This treasury of prehistoric paintings is
likely the most distinctive rock art in North America. Many of the caves
contain large colorful murals of figures, spirits and animals, so large
that they are actually larger than life in size. The character of the
paintings cause many people to compare them to the Paleolithic cave
paintings found in Europe. So impressive are these paintings that in 1993
UNESCO included them on The World Heritage List. Trekking to the caves’
locations will be one of the Adventures undertaken by ALF’s Explorers.

At more than two hundred sites scattered across the Baja
peninsula the ancient Indians left rock art ranging from simple
petroglyphs pecked on exposed rocks to enormous murals painted on the
walls and ceilings of rock shelters and caves. Some of murals contain
figures and animals painted life-size or larger. In fact, some are so
large in scale or so far off the ground that legends insist that the
artists were a race of giants.

The most spectacular of the murals are found in the
canyons of the Sierra de San Francisco and the Sierra de Guadalupe.
Roughly, this covers the mountainous regions both north and south of the
town of San Ignacio.

The murals usually depict human figures, deer, mountain
sheep and rabbits. Occasionally there will be depictions of other animals,
birds and even sea mammals. The human figures are usually angular and
highly stylized. Many figures are painted in two colors, split either
vertically or horizontally. This technique is commonly referred to as
"bicolor".

Another characteristic of the murals is referred to as
"overpainting". This is where the figures have been repainted
over and over again. The result is almost a clashing of figures. This
effect has been found at other rock art sites around the world. Perhaps
shamans come to these sites ask for assistance for their tribe.

One thought is that the paintings were intended to be
magical and perhaps to enhance the success of a hunt. The true reasons may
never be know. However, these murals required great expenditures of time.
Paints and pigments need to be made, travel to the remote sites had to be
accomplished and ladders had to be built to paint the ceilings. Obviously
the designs were produced for important reasons.

A number of factors quite beyond the actions of the Painters helped to hide and guard their secrets.

Rugged topography has been the greatest single deterrent to anyone attempting to enter and know the Painters' realm. Although the area most involved is no more than 300 or 400 square miles, it is a maze of deep-cut watercourses with towering walls. The terrain is difficult to learn or to find one's way through; any part of it is physically demanding to traverse. Distance in
air miles cannot serve as a measure of the difficulties; it does no good to think of this sierra as 35 miles long unless you plan to fly over it. On the ground, trails are forced into tortured horizontal and vertical courses which multiply the miles and tax the muscles of men and beasts of burden.
For some photos of the cave paintings be sure to check the Baja
Photo Page and the Great
Mural Paintings of Baja website.

In 1697, when the Spanish arrived, there were about
50,000 native people living in Baja California. Of these people, about 80%
of them were wiped out by diseases brought by the Spaniards in the 1700’s.
Of the original tribes, only the Paipai and the Kumeyaay still exist.

The Paipai and the Kumeyaay, together numbering about
700, struggle to survive in communities such as San Jose de la Zorra, 40
miles southeast of Tijuana, Santa Catarina in the Sierra Juarez Mountains
and San Isidoro near the Trinidad Valley. They make their living by
raising livestock and crops and by selling handicrafts such as willow
baskets and pottery.

They still live traditionally, harvesting the natural
resources such as yucca, honey and pine nuts to provide what they need.
But changes may be coming their way. Tribal leaders, anxious to find new
sources of income, have partnered with the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency and San Diego State University to begin cataloging commercially
valuable medicinal plants.

Researchers using a GPS plot areas of specific plant
growth and send the coordinates to Ensenada where it is entered on a
computer. With help from the Autonomous University of Baja California, the
data is combined with existing NASA satellite images to form a
three-dimensional view of the 170,000 acre territory.

Funding for this project is provided by the EPA and is
part of a larger initiative to help U.S.-Mexican border tribes improve
their environment through new technology.

The
official language spoken in Baja is Spanish, however indigenous languages
are also spoken by the Paipai, Tipai and Cucapah people in northern Baja.

The
population of the State of Baja California (northern Baja) is 2.5 million
people. The population for the southern half, Baja Sur is
420,000. These figures come form the 2000 Census although it is
believed that many people who live in rural areas may not have been
counted. Overall, the peninsula is believed to be home to
approximately 3 million people.

The
dominant religion in Baja is Roman Catholicism, however there are small
percentages of Protestant, Jewish and Muslim.

Religion and
belief in the supernatural are powerful influences in Mexico. They are
reflected throughout the country, from the ancient pyramids and art to the
cathedrals built by the Spanish.

To the ancient people in Mexico the world was a scary
place full of evil. Their lives were at the mercy of their gods. The
cycles of day and night, fall and spring and rain or drought frightened
the people.

The battles fought between the Indians and the Spaniards
were more than just a war between people. They were battles between gods.
When the Spaniards won, the priests were quick to seize on this
significance in their attempts to convert the Indians to Christianity.

However, it was easier to get the Indians to convert to
the new religion than it was to have them give up their old ways. The Indians did not want to
completely give up their gods. So in an effort to placate them the priests
adapted traditional beliefs into the worship of
local patron saints. They also encouraged the Indians to identify the
Catholic saints with their own indigenous gods. As a result, Mexican
Catholicism today embraces many different practices.

The Mexican people and their government have taken
strides towards the protection their varied natural resources.
Many parks, reserves and protected areas can now be found throughout the
country. Read all about the fascinating Vizcaino
Biosphere. In addition, several locations have been named UNESCO
World Heritage Sites.

Flora (Plants)

Botanists have classified the world’s vegetation into
what is considered to be easily recognizable plant communities. Baja
California is thought to contain eight plant communities within its
boundaries. These eight communities can be further grouped into three main
regions: The California Region, The Sonoran Desert and The Cape Region.
There are 125 plant species in Baja California that grow naturally nowhere
else in the world.

The California Region is not unique to Baja, but rather
is a continuation of the vegetation found to the north. It contains
chaparral in the lowlands, with pine and other conifer trees in the higher
elevation.

The Sonoran Desert Region covers nearly two-thirds of
the Baja peninsula. In the central part of the peninsula is where we can
find Baja’s most interesting plants. There are many types of cacti and
succulents, and then there are the strange cirio, the elephant tree, and
the cardon among others.

The Cape Region contains two types of flora. The Arid
Tropical Forest contains many plants from the Sonoran Desert, however
these plans grow more densely packed due to the availability of more
moisture. There are also low spreading trees. The other is the Oak-Pinyon
(Piñion) Woodland is found high in the southern mountains. These
mountains receive high rainfall from tropical storms.

Be sure to check our Plant Page, as we will be posting
photos of many of the plants that we find. You can also check out the web
sites at Ocean
Oasis and The Baja
Desert for
detailed descriptions and photos of plants and animals found in the Baja
deserts.

For a more detailed review of the plants in the Baja
Peninsula take a look at the Baja California Plant Field Guide by Norman
Roberts. Over 400 plants are discussed and there are 285 color photographs
of the various plants.

Fauna (Wildlife)

In addition to the many insects and reptiles that live
in the Baja desert, many of the mammals are the same that are found in the
southern deserts of the United States. There are coyote, gray fox, raccoon
and even bobcat. However the chances of seeing one of these animals is
very low as they are active primarily at night. Be sure to check out the
web sites at Ocean
Oasis or Desert
Ecology, or its
mirror site for details
and photos of animals found in the Nbrrth American deserts, including the
Baja Region.

Many North American water birds migrate to the Baja
California coastlines during the winter months.

Baja California is nearly surrounded by water and has
two distinct shorelines. The shorelines follow The Pacific Ocean and the
Sea of Cortez. With so much coastline, Baja have a wealth of marine
mammals. You can find California Sea Lions, elephant seals, finback whales, guadalupe fur seals, humpback whales, harbor seals, bottle-nosed
dolphins and the California Gray Whale.

The California Gray Whale is one of the main study
topics of this expedition. Please read the special pages devoted to the
California Gray Whale. Follow this link.

Of the five species of sea
turtles that are known to visit Mexican beaches only two nest on the beaches
of Baja, both in the area around Los Cabos. These are the Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys
olivacea) and the Loggerhead (Caretta caretta). Look at
these photos
of the sea turtles species.

Olive Ridley

turtles or Golfinas,
begin nesting on our beaches in June. The Golfina, which feeds
mostly on shrimp, jellyfish, snails and algae, can grow to be 26 inches long
and weigh up to 90 lbs. It's primary nesting season is from June to
December.

The Leatherback or Laud turtle
begins its' nesting season in Nov.-Feb. It is the largest of all marine
turtles, growing up to 70 inches in length, and weighing up to 1,300 lbs.
Its' favorite food is jellyfish, and the Leatherback has been known to dive
up to 1 kilometer in depth in search of food

Turtles usually lay their eggs on the beach where they
were born, sometimes traveling many miles to return. They come ashore
at night, dig a hole and deposit up to 200 eggs into it. The hole is
then covered and the mother turtle returns to the sea. Six to ten
weeks later the baby turtles hatch, digging their way out of the sand and
beginning their dangerous journey to the ocean. Obstacles along the
way include man, birds, animals and disorientation from man-made light
sources.

Although it is a crime in Mexico to kill turtles or
disturb their nests, the demise of turtle populations continues. There are
many factors contributing to the decline in sea turtle populations:
pollution, hunting for meat and shells, accidental capture and drowning in
fishing nets, collection of eggs for sale by local residents, motorized
vehicle use on nesting site beaches, development, boat traffic, natural
predation and trade in turtle products.

Worldwide conservation efforts are helping but turtles are
still in danger.

The migration of the California
Gray Whale is one of the most amazing animal behaviors on record. Every
winter, beginning in mid-October, Gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus)
migrate south from the Bering Sea to the warm lagoons of Baja California
(6,000 miles). Breeding along the way, they arrive at the lagoons in
December and January and it is here that they give birth to their young.
When the calves have grown big enough for the trip home the whales start
heading north again from February to May.

There are three major breeding grounds in Baja: Laguna
Ojo de Liebre (once known as Scammon’s Lagoon, see below), Laguna de San
Ignacio and Bahia Magdalena. Laguna Ojo de Liebre is also the home to the
Parque Natural de la Ballena Gris, a national park.

Gray whales are baleen whales. This term refers to the
bristled plates that hang downward on either side of their upper jaws.
These bristles act as a sieve to filter food out of the water. Their upper
jaws can expand when taking in large amounts of water and when the water
is forced through the bristles, small invertebrates are left behind and
eaten. An adult gray whale can eat approximately 2,600 lbs (1,200kg) of
these small crustaceans. When migrating and calving however, the grays eat
very little.

Gray whales are mottled gray in color. They are covered
in barnacles and usually have scrapes and scars from feeding along the
bottom and from encounters with their only water-borne enemy, the Killer
Whale. Gray whales have no dorsal fin but have a low hump followed by 9-12
knobs. The flippers are large and paddle-shaped and the tail very broad,
its width equaling almost 25% of the body length.

Gray whales are slow swimmers, averaging 3-5 mph (5-8
kph). When traveling, the make shallow dives of 4-5 minutes and then
surface to blow 3 or 4 times. Grays also like to breach (leaping out of
the water) and spyhop (raising their heads out of the water). These
behaviors are not understood but may have to do with breeding or
navigation.

In 1857, an American Whaling captain named Charles
Melville Scammon heard about the whales’ migration to Baja. Following a
pod of whales into a small lagoon, he determined that the traditional
harpooning wouldn’t work to kill them. He devised a new method and in
the small confines of the lagoons, was able to slaughter hundreds of
whales a year, selling their oil and blubber for great profit.

By the 1930’s, nearly all the gray whales had been
eliminated. It wasn’t until 1972 when the U.S. government passed the
Marine Mammal Protection Act that the gray whale began a comeback. Now,
thirty years later, the comeback of the gray whale is considered one of
the greatest successes of the environmental movement.

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